The Jewel of Kamara (The Delthenon Chronicles) (9 page)

She
turned back to the inn. She had heard of these places, always mentioned in
hushed voices. To actually see one though was something different. Part of her
had secretly hoped that the stories she heard weren’t true. That men didn’t
come here to seek a warm body outside of their marital beds or to pass their
time before finding a betrothed.

She
wondered what type of woman would sell her body. Was it a choice they made
willingly or were they forced into it against their will? She couldn’t help but
think of the parents of these girls. The mothers in particular. Tempani
couldn’t imagine that this was the life they wished for their baby girls.

She
stiffened when she glimpsed one of the girls. She was waving off a man who was
old enough to be her father, his belly protruding over his breeches. As she
moved to go back inside she noticed Tempani watching her. This girl was not
much older than Tempani and wore her brown hair loose. A slap in the face to
the men she serviced. She lifted her head up high and glared at the young
noblewoman, a smirk on her lips. And then Tempani saw it. The stolen broach lay
pinned to the girl’s breast and glistened as the afternoon sun hit it. The
girl’s eyes narrowed, as if daring her to turn her in. Tempani knew she should,
if only to clear her own name, but there was something that held her back.
There was something about the way she held herself, a fire in her eyes that
Tempani admired.

“What?”
Tempani turned back to her friends.

“Are
you looking forward to Princess Ellsje’s birthday celebrations?” Dahlia asked
again.

“Of
course,” she said. “It’s hard to imagine she’s turning twelve.”

“Even
harder for mother to imagine,” said Teddy. “She knows it won’t be long before
father starts talking about sending her off to forge an alliance through
marriage.”

Dahlia
frowned. “One of the pitfalls of being a princess. I don’t think I could handle
being sent to marry a stranger in a foreign land.”

“Perhaps
the men are better elsewhere. Present company excluded, of course.”

Teddy
gave Tempani a gentle shove and laughed. “Don’t let Nic hear you say that.”

“You
could do worse, you know,” said Madoc.

“His
pursuit of me is pointless. They will never allow a Kalaowin to be his queen.”

She
was right. They knew it, and Nic would know it too. It was silly of him to
think for even a moment that they could be together. King Wimarc would never allow
it. He didn’t even allow Otto to marry Hamalia. They were married in a Kalaowin
ceremony but were never recognized by the Kamari law. King Wimarc held firm on
his belief that Kamaris should not marry them. There was no way he’d allow Nic
to make one his queen.

“What
a pleasant surprise this is,” Chae said as he approached their table, Nic at
his heel. “We were just taking a stroll through the city, and then I remembered
that you were all here having lunch so I suggested to Nic that we should pop in
and say hello.”

“We
were just leaving,” Tempani said as she rose to her feet.

“Perfect
timing,” said Chae. “We can all walk together.”

She
opened her mouth to object but copped an elbow from Teddy. “I thought you’d
forgiven him,” he murmured.

She
smiled at her brother. “Lovely.” She turned back to Teddy and glared at him
until he offered his arm. She placed her hand on it and couldn’t resist digging
her fingernails into his skin to show her displeasure.

The
streets were busy, but the crowds parted as the nobles approached, as history
had taught them that getting too close to nobility meant a harsh beating at the
hands of the King’s Guard, who patrolled the city.

A
little girl waved at the group and dropped into a clumsy curtsey. Nic smiled
and offered a bow in return. Chae turned around to Tempani with a knowing smile
on his face. She rolled her eyes at him. He did one kind thing to a commoner,
she wanted to say. It didn’t make him a saint.

Tempani
watched the little girl dart off in glee and run towards an alley. She
clambered at the knee of a young woman, desperate to tell her of her encounter
with their future king. The commoners in the vicinity all lifted their heads.
Their hollow eyes were large in their grimy, sunken faces as they watched the
young nobles pass. Their tattered clothing hung off their bony frames. Tempani
wasn’t sure if she should look away and avoid their pleading stares as they
sent a flash of anger through her. In the distance she heard the deep boom of
thunder.

She
fumbled in her purse for some coins, desperate to give them all she had.

Teddy
placed a hand on her arm and shook his head. “Don’t,” he murmured softly.
“You’ll be seen as funding the riots.”

“They’re
hungry.”

“There’s
nothing you can do for them.”

“It’s
not fair,” she hissed, too angry to bother keeping her voice low.

Nic
stopped in front of them and turned. ‘What isn’t fair?”

“These
people are hungry.” She ignored Teddy’s squeeze on her arm.

Nic
sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “There’s not much we can do about it.”

“You
can feed them.”

“If
we feed them, we’ll have to feed everyone,” he explained. “If they can’t afford
to eat…”

“They
can’t afford to eat because you tax them! You keep taking from those who have
nothing to give.”

“And
what would you know of it? You’ve been gone for five years.”

“I
know that you should increase your nobles’ taxes.”

“And
have them revolt?”

“Your
commoners are already revolting! Or does that not matter because you don’t need
to keep them on side?”

“Tempani,”
Chae warned.

Nic
closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, his patience wearing thin. “All of my
people are important,” he said and opened his eyes, matching her steely gaze.
“You may think me arrogant but never doubt my compassion for my people. Ever.”

He
turned on his heel and stalked off, leaving the others to stare at his
departing back.

“You
shouldn’t be so hard on him,” said Chae.

“He
should be doing more to help his people.”

“You
have no idea what it’s like for him. The pressure he is under.”

“No,
I don’t. But I can’t see how he can walk past this and not want to act.”

“And
what makes you think he isn’t?” Madoc asked. “He is a good man, and he will be
a good king.”

“Just
when I think he might be halfway decent, he says something that frustrates me.
He did as a child also.”

“If
anyone else spoke to a royal the way you did, you would be brought before the
Master Priest for questioning,” said Chae. “Surely that says something of his
character.”

“I
guess.”

Chae
squeezed her hand. “Give him a chance. Let him show you that he is not the man
you think he is.”

Tempani
and Dahlia bid the men farewell and headed to Leandra’s shop for a final
fitting of their gowns for Ellsje’s birthday. The two girls had commissioned a
few gowns from her and were growing quite fond of the dressmaker and her healer
husband.

They
were cautious not to make their friendship with them too obvious as it was not
exactly common in Kamara for nobles and commoners to be friendly. The
hostilities between the two classes were at an all-time high. The riot that had
broken out before she arrived in Fenella had sparked during a protest over the
law preventing the commoners from attending the university. One person had been
trampled to death.

According
to the whispers at court, the commoners were starting to worry the king. Over
the past three years they had become more vocal about the injustices they felt
they faced. And the last thing he needed was the lower class turning on him.
Not when they were already at war with the Kalaowins. A war that had been
raging since the beginning of time.

Tempani
wondered why the commoners didn’t join forces with the Kalaowins and fight as
one.

“Because
it is ingrained in them to hate one another,” Darby explained when she asked
him one afternoon. “The crown has done everything in their power to fuel that
hatred, hoping that they can keep them both too busy fighting one another
instead of fighting the root of their problems.”

“But
it’s happened before hasn’t it?” She asked. “During the Grand War?”

“What
do you know of the Grand War?”

“That
our people, Kamaris and Kalaowin alike, united under one banner and fought
against the Euphemian rule. And then King Raleigh was crowned and the Kalaowins
were forced back to the mountains.”

“It’s
true. We did stand united and brought an end to almost thirty years under the
Euphemians. It was an interesting time in Kamara,” he said. “Only those nobles
who chose to align themselves with the invaders were permitted to keep their
titles and lands. All others were stripped of their titles and forced into
servitude.”

“So
at one point all of our people were equal?”

“It’s
hard to believe isn’t it? When the Kalaowins were hunted down and brought
closer to civilization, the Kamari commoners were the first to open their arms.
Kalaowins, Kamari nobles and commoners were comrades in arms when Raleigh of
Lenthir, once one of the noblest families, led the rebellion against the
Euphemians.

“I
would have thought that when King Raleigh rose to power he would have fought to
keep a united kingdom.”

“Greed
is a powerful thing Tempani. King Raleigh reinstated the nobles their riches,
and with their titles back, they no longer had a need for the commoners or the
Kalaowins.”

“So
we went back to the mountains?”

He
frowned. “More or less,” he said slowly. “There were a handful of tribes that
evaded capture during the Euphemian reign. Among those was the Shiasa’s tribe,
and there was a rumor that Raleigh made a promise to the Shiasa that he would
wed her daughter and finally unite the kingdom if she in return forced those in
hiding to fight with them. Two races, one crown. No more bloodshed.”

“The
Shiasa?”

They
both looked up, startled to find Teddy had been standing in the doorway
listening in on their conversation.

“The
Kalaowins don’t have a king or queen,” Tempani explained, ignoring the panic
flitter across Darby’s face. “We are made up of tribes, each with their own
tribe leader. These leaders are responsible for their own tribes but are
governed by the Shiasa. She has final say in all matters.”

“They
allow a female to rule?” He asked, raising an eyebrow as he joined them. “So he
didn’t keep his word?”

Darby
hesitated, his gaze lingering on the young prince. “Some say the might of the
Kalaowins during the Grand War scared him. The way they fought was ruthless, a
real art form. So we could deduce that he worried that by having a Kalaowin as
his queen he would run the risk of fuelling their thirst for total domination.”

Tempani
sighed in disgust. “So he turned the commoners against us? Created the divide
that has only gotten stronger?”

“It
wouldn’t have been difficult,” he explained. “People were hurting and wanted
stability on the throne. He was a hero so they believed him when he said that
the Kalaowins had plans to take control of the kingdom. They were run out of
the city, and we believed they were the savages he told us they were.”

“All
we want is to coexist,” she whispered. “We only fight back because we are
attacked. Our people captured and sold into slavery.”

“They
are not completely blameless. There have been reports of unprovoked attacks.”

“If
we feel under threat what do you expect us to do? Lie down and take it and run
the risk of our children being captured?”

“The
situation is not an easy one. There is no clear right or wrong in this. But it
explains why the Kalaowins and Kamari commoners do not stand united.”

“It’s
definitely food for thought,” Teddy said, rising from his seat. “If all of your
chats are this educational I may need to drop by more often.” He headed out the
door.

“I
know he is your friend Tempani, but he is also a prince and you must be mindful
of what you say around him.”

She
patted the older man’s hand. “Teddy is my most trusted friend. One of the few
people I am free to speak my mind around.”

She
waved goodbye and rushed outside to find Teddy waiting to escort her home. He
gave her a warm smile as he helped her mount Mincha, and they rode home
together, joking as they went.

Tempani
lay awake in bed that night, her conversation with Darby running through her
mind. Would somebody ever be able to unite this kingdom? End the suffering and
bloodshed? She couldn’t help but imagine how different things would have been
had king Raleigh kept his promise and wed the Shiasa’s daughter. Two races, one
crown.

Back
then it could have happened. He could have made a difference. Instead he had
begun a long-running feud.